Washington DC [US] March 5 (ANI): A divided Supreme Court of the US on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress frozen, CNN reported.
The court did not immediately say when the funds must be released, allowing the White House to continue to dispute the issue in lower courts. The ruling was 5-4, as per CNN.
The majority noted that given a court-ordered deadline to spend the money last week had already passed, the lower courts should “clarify what obligations the government must fulfil to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order.”
In a strongly worded dissent, a conservative judge wrote that he was “stunned” by the court’s decision to permit the lower-court judge to order the administration to unfreeze the foreign aid at issue in the case.
She added: “A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance. Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them.”
The appeal raced to the high court within days – exceedingly fast by the federal judiciary’s standards. It is the second case to reach the justices dealing with Trump’s moves to consolidate power within the executive branch and dramatically reshape the government after taking power in January, as per CNN.
At the center of the case is billions in foreign aid from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development that Trump froze in January as he sought to clamp down spending and bring those agencies in line with his agenda. Several non-profit groups that rely on the funding for global health and other programs sued, asserting that the administration’s moves usurped the power of Congress to control government spending and violated a federal law that dictates how agencies make decisions, CNN reported.
In a brief on Friday, the groups described the administration’s actions as having a “devastating” impact.
They told the court that the funding “advances US interests abroad and improves – and, in many cases, literally saves – the lives of millions of people across the globe.”
“In doing so, it helps stop problems like disease and instability overseas before they reach our shores,” the groups said, as per CNN.
US District Judge Amir Ali on February 13 ordered that much of the money continue to flow on a temporary basis while he reviewed the case. Days later, the plaintiffs argued that the administration was defying that order and continuing to block the spending and Ali then ordered the Trump administration to spend the money at issue by midnight Wednesday. Ali was named to the bench by Former US President Joe Biden, as per CNN.
The Trump administration rushed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court hours before that deadline, urging the court to at least pause it for a few days. The administration is making “substantial efforts” to review payment requests and spend the money, the government argued, but it couldn’t turn meet the Ali’s timeline.
The groups that sued ridiculed that explanation, arguing that a small number of political appointees within the administration “are refusing to authorize essentially any payments.”
“The government has not taken ‘any meaningful steps’ to come into compliance,” the groups said a Supreme Court filing earlier on Friday.
Among the groups challenging the freeze are the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, a New York-based organization working to speed HIV prevention and the Global Health Council, based in Washington, DC, which represents other groups that administer health programs.
The Trump administration revealed in court filings in the case that it is attempting to terminate more than 90 per cent of the USAID foreign aid awards.
“In total, nearly 5,800 USAID awards were terminated, and more than 500 USAID awards were retained,” a filing from the administration said.
“The total ceiling value of the retained awards is approximately USD 57 billion,” the filing said.
In addition to the USAID award terminations, “approximately 4,100 State awards were terminated, and approximately 2,700 State awards were retained,” the government told a lower court, referring to the State Department.
Aid programs around the world have ground to a halt due to the sweeping funding freeze and review of billions of dollars of assistance. It also comes as the Trump administration has either placed the majority of USAID’s workforce on leave or terminated them. (ANI)
